Employment contracts

Contracts of employment (written particulars)

Employment contracts contain the general terms and conditions of employment.

This includes information on your:

• annual leave allowance
• sickness absence allowance
• notice period

If you have received a single document, the general terms and conditions of employment will be shown as Part 2 of your contract.

• Grades D to J (PDF, 161KB)
• Grades D to J  for Place Services (PDF, 161KB)
• Grades A to C (PDF, 166KB)
• Chief Executive
• Bands 1 to​ 9 Local Pay terms (prior to Essex Pay, or if exempt from Essex Pay) (PDF, 164KB)
• Grades D to J sessional employees (standard terms)​​ (PDF, 171KB)
• Centrally employed teachers (PDF, 131 KB)
• Centrally employed teachers (leadership/advanced skills) (PDF, 127KB)
• Essex Music Services tutors​ (PDF, 129KB)
• Soulbury (PDF, 145 KB)
• Youth an​d community worker​s (PDF, 137 KB)

Specific information relating to your employment, such as your pay, grade, starting date, hours and place of work, is found either in Part 1 of your contract letter (new style) or in your separate appointment letter (old style).

Code of conduct

​The code of conduct is the set of standards which everyone who works for the council is expected to follow.

You should be sure you have read and behave according to the principles set out in our code of conduct.

Continuity of employment

​Qualification for many statutory employment rights depends on being continuously employed under a contract with the same employer for a certain length of time.

For local government employees, legislation (the Modification Order) and nationally negotiated conditions of service mean that for some rights such as redundancy, holiday, and contractual maternity pay, service with other local authorities and certain related bodies also counts as continuous employment.

Take a look at the continuity of employment policy (PDF, 164KB) for more information.

For more information on the Modification Order please see the local government association website.

Paid or unpaid work outside of the council

​All employees need to discuss any proposed paid or unpaid outside work with their line manager and, if appropriate, their Head of Service.

The principles of our outside work policy include the following statements:

• any proposed outside work should not conflict or interfere with your role or the interests of the council
• any outside work must not breach the Working Time Regulations which governs the total number of hours that can be safely worked
• where taking a second paid job could cause you to exceed the 48 hour maximum average working week, an opt out form must be signed
• line managers will consider requests and document discussions with you
• permission to undertake paid or unpaid outside work may be withdrawn if it later conflicts with the council's interests or affects your performance
• undertaking outside work without permission may be regarded as a disciplinary offence

For more information, check out our outside work policy (PDF, 220KB).